RAD LIFE

You may know The Empty Threats as that band with "some cheeky clarinet and a larger than life front man", but with the release of their new song Heavy - The Empty Threats show us that there's a lot more to the band than pure psychedelia.

A 6-minute slow burner, Heavy shows a more refined, developed side to the psychedelic chaos of their first EP. Guitarist Matt Schultz says the more reflective, extended sound "came naturally after they've been playing less songs for longer live".

Having taken a short hiatus after the release of their Psychobabble EP in mid-2017, the band had ample time to reflect on where the project was headed. "We learnt that less is best" says vocalist Stuart Patterson, "we stopped trying to jam pack everything in". Instead, everything in Heavy falls around the opening bass line, which was the first thing the band jammed off the hiatus.

For Stuart, the song is about "trying not to sink, to fall into that pit of negativity" and with a swan pictured in the monochromatic photograph, meaning can be pushed and pulled from all facets of The Empty Threats new single.

Recording the single with "producer, and urban legend himself" Matt Hills, the band could focus purely on the music. With the rights to a sci-fi movie sample, it was Matt who suggested it open and close the track. "You were my best work Mr Wilson, sorry it all has to end like this" it explains, and rightly so.

What happens when pure comedy takes human form? What happens when a creature is created and bred to do stand up? Nobody knows because that isn’t a thing. What is a thing is Ross Noble doing a show. You can come and see. This is it.